Ben Waller Mrs. Callaham Honors English II November 15, 2013 Antigone The tragic hero in the play Antigone is the main character Antigone. She stands up for what she believes in and faces the punishment that she doesn't deserve. Creon wants Antigone and her sister to die because he is afraid they are going to steal the thrown from him, but in the end everything turns to the worst. Antigone dies with a clean conscience after burying her brother even though she knew she would die. Antigone was born into the royal family.
Creon’s tragic flaw is that he is to prideful. Creon insists on killing Antigone because she disobeyed his decree. When Haimon questions his decision, Creon replies by saying,” I’ll have no dealing with law breakers” (792, 35-36). Creon is explaining to Haimon that he will not deal with any rule breakers and that Antigone will be put to die along with her traitor of a brother. Creon’s pride is what leads to the death of Haimon, his son, and the Queen, his wife.
Creon refuses to dispose of Polynices’ properly. Antigone believes strongly in the afterlife that she does what she thinks is right. When Creon finds out that his niece has buried her brother he is infuriated. She thinks that people need to respect the dead, and since she sees no one acknowledging this she considers herself dead because she did what no other person thought of doing. Antigone knows that Creon knows what she has done and states, “I gave myself to death, long ago, so I might serve the dead.” Her brother not being buried changes the relationship she has with her uncle because her uncle now wants her to suffer and to e tormented for something she thought was right.
She is completely unable to control her feelings for her only love, “I must love a loathed enemy” [I, v, 139]. The way that Shakespeare uses “must” is very interesting because although the households are enemies she must go against her parents will because she loves Romeo. No longer did her parents support her instead she was rejected. When Juliet rebels against marring Paris, “He shall not make me a joyful bride” [III,v,117]. Lord Capulet becomes enraged of this defiant behaviour, “An you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend / an you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, / For, by my soul, I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee” [III, v, 192-4].
In his play Antigone, Sophocles tells about the actions of Antigone, a princess, who disobeys the civil law in the city of Thebes in order to provide a proper burial for her deceased brother, Polyneices. For this, she is sentenced to death by Creon, her uncle and king of the land. Creon believes that Polyneices did not deserve a proper burial due to the fact he turned on his city and therefore punishes Antigone for her actions. Creon and Antigone both face severe consequences regarding the law they follow, however Antigone is focused on life after death while Creon focuses only on his needs and wants. The main conflict arises when Antigone decides to go against civil law and bury her deceased brother.
Now because of his stubbornness he wants to kill her and her sister that is not even involved. This king has no compassion or heart, and has no problem executing his own family if he feels the need to. Creon’s own son does not agree with this decision and continues to state that “The people feel sorry for Antigone. / They say it isn’t equitable she must die / A Horrible death for such a noble action” (Sophocles 18). The
There has just been a war between Antigone's two brothers about who is to rule Thebes. Both of Antigone’s brothers died, but Creon left the brother who attacked Thebes, Polyneices, unburied as a form of punishment. Antigone went against Creon’s orders and buried him anyway. As punishment, Creon then sentenced her to death. Haimon, Creon’s son and Antigone’s fiancé pleaded for Antigone to be pardoned, but Creon did not abide to his son’s request.
Romeo, in an act of revenge, kills Tybalt. The Prince, trying to maintain peace, banished Romeo from Verona. The Nurse brought the news to Juliet “Tybalt is gone, and Romeo banished; Romeo that killed him, he is banished” (Romeo and Juliet 2. 2. 69-70 ) This made Juliet miserable over Romeo's banishment, meanwhile her parents thought her unhappiness was over Tybalt's death.
The passage says, “and reverence towards the gods must be safeguarded.” For Antigone this quote illustrates that her reasoning that the gods would be on her side was not an assumption she should have made, because not one did the gods talk to her specifically and tell her to bury the body of her brother. At first in the play Antigone was relishing in the fact that she would die for a noble hubris cause, but she later on questions the gods when she talks about the gods not being on her side. Creon on the other side commits the act of blasphemy towards the gods by mocking Zeus in one of his speeches. Creon also compares himself to the gods and both of them should have not used the god’s names for the hubris ways. Lastly the passage says, “those blows will teach us wisdom.” Both Antigone and Creon lost the very things they cared about while trying to be hubris.
From now on they’ll act like women”(lines 651-652). Antigone challenges this by going against Creon’s law, showing that women were bold and courageous. Woman back in ancient Greece couldn't really do much because they were thought as minority to men. Additionally, Creon tells everyone in the room that no woman is going to overpower him. He says, “While I’m alive, no woman is going to lord it over me”(lines 592-593).